QA Engineer

Career Overview

Quality Assurance as the name suggests, includes all the roles involved to assure "quality" of a service or product. QA, QC, and Test Engineering are words in software engineering that are often used interchangeably. Quality assurance defines the set of activities for ensuring quality to help produce consistently defect free output which then go to market and then 'test' the Output which is essentially Quality Control (QC). Quality Assurance function involves continuous and consistent improvement and maintenance of process that enables the QC job and also makes sure that the software adheres to the standards set by the development company or meets the customer requirements.Most software developers move to the role of a Quality Assurance Engineer since the skills you develop are always very portable. The role of a QA is an exciting one and involves lots of people interaction, innovation and making systems more efficient. Software quality assurance engineers must be familiar with the entire software development life cycle and most start out their career as software engineers or as testing engineers.Some of the roles and responsibilities of a QA are:

Analyze test results to assure quality of existing and new functionalities

Communication and Presentation and participate in product design reviews to provide input on functional requirements

Salaries and Job Outlook*

Median Annual Pay

Number of Jobs

Projected Growth Rate

Quality has become a key product differentiator and global competition, customer demands and regulatory bodies have begun to lay emphasis on quality assurance. The job outlook for QA engineers is favorable in the age of information technology. Software development for mobile devices, cloud computing, and business management will remain in high demand in the years to come making the need for quality assurance testing. QA engineers find employment in a wide variety of employers such as manufacturing companies, engineering companies, pharmaceutical companies, textile, automotive companies, processing companies and government departments.Experience plays a crucial role in deciding the remuneration of QA Engineers. A fresher earns an average salary of INR 3.5 lacs p.a.

Education and Training

Degrees Required:

Bachelor Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems M.B.A.

If you are considering QA as a career you must get a major in computer science. Employers usually look for people who have broad knowledge and experience related to computer software development. Other degrees like a Diploma in Information system technology or getting a certificate in Software QA engineering is also considered as an advantage and gives an edge to the students. A background in marketing and business is often preferred by certain employers.

collegesoffer programs for the career. Find colleges in your city
Change City

Valued Traits & Abilities

Problem-Solving Skills

Detail Oriented

Communication Skills

Creativity & Innovative

Leadership Skills

Career Opportunities

Software testing is a growing industry in the IT field. It has become mandatory for software and related organizations to monitor their quality of services to meet the needs and expectations of their customers. A typical career path would involve starting as a test engineer and gradually advance to become QA lead, QA Manager. QA is a role that closely works with the product; hence product management is a good option for QA engineers. Some possible higher-level jobs in quality could include Quality Assurance Manager or Director of Quality Control level position or into a supervisory role, where he would be responsible for managing other engineers.

Quality Assurance Lead

They establish and evolve formal QA processes, ensuring that the team is using industry-accepted best practices and that test standards are met. They act as key point of contact for all QA aspects of releases, provide QA services and coordinate QA resources internally and externally.

Quality Assurance Analyst

They work collaboratively within the IT department and business units to execute and validate test cases based upon system requirements. They create an end-to-end test plan; execute the plan and managing all activities in the plan to ensure that all the objectives are met.